List of metropolitan areas in Japan by population
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This table contains lists of Japanese metropolitan areas (都市圏), as defined by Statistics Bureau of Japan (SBJ). The lists include the prefectures containing the region, the population of the region, and the central cities of each region. The population data is taken from the 2000 Census of Japan.[1] The region containing most of the people in Japan, between Tokyo and Fukuoka is often called Taiheiyo Belt.
- Usage note: Metropolitan area populations are often controversial and the methods used to calculate them vary from country to country and source to source, so great care should be taken when comparing the figures in this table with figures for any other country. Meaningful comparisons of metropolitan area population figures can only be made if the methods used to determine each figure are thoroughly understood.
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[edit] Definition
The Statistics Bureau of Japan (SBJ) defines a metropolitan area as one or more central cities and its associated outlying municipalities. To qualify as an outlying municipality, the municipality must have at least 1.5% of its resident population aged 15 and above commuting to school or work into one of the central cities. To qualify as a central city, a city must either be a designated city of any population or a non-designated city with a city proper population of at least 500,000. Metropolitan areas of designated cities are defined as "major metropolitan areas" (大都市圏) while those of non-designated cities are simply "metropolitan areas" (都市圏). If multiple central cities are close enough such that their outlying cities overlap, they are combined together and a single metropolitan area is defined rather than independently.
The metropolitan areas written in bold are the 7 major metropolitan areas of Japan.
- Oct. 1st, 2000
- MMA : Major Metropolitan Area
- MA : Metropolitan Area
- Sources : [1]
| Rank | Area | Prefecture | Central City | Area Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Keihin'yō MMA | Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, Saitama Prefecture, Chiba Prefecture, Ibaraki Prefecture | 23 special wards area, Yokohama, Kawasaki, Chiba | 34,493,466 |
| 02 | Keihanshin MMA | Osaka Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, Hyōgo Prefecture, Nara Prefecture, Shiga Prefecture, Wakayama Prefecture | Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto | 18,643,915 |
| 03 | Chūkyō MMA | Aichi Prefecture, Gifu Prefecture, Mie Prefecture | Nagoya | 8,738,842 |
| 04 | Kitakyūshū-Fukuoka MMA | Fukuoka Prefecture | Fukuoka, Kitakyushu | 5,418,537 |
| 05 | Sapporo MMA | Ishikari Subprefecture in Hokkaidō | Sapporo | 2,509,530 |
| 06 | Sendai MMA | Miyagi Prefecture | Sendai | 2,186,397 |
| 07 | Hiroshima MMA | Hiroshima Prefecture | Hiroshima | 2,043,788 |
| 08 | Okayama MA | Okayama Prefecture | Okayama | 1,612,756 |
| 09 | Kumamoto MA | Kumamoto Prefecture | Kumamoto | 1,462,478 |
| 10 | Niigata MA | Niigata Prefecture | Niigata | 1,349,573 |
| 11 | Hamamatsu MA | Shizuoka Prefecture | Hamamatsu | 1,226,890 |
| 12 | Kagoshima MA | Kagoshima Prefecture | Kagoshima | 1,087,447 |
[edit] Metropolitan areas in census 2005
The following three metropolitan areas are planned by SBJ to be included in the final census 2005 report.
- Kantō major metropolitan area
- Saitama became a designated city on 2003-04-01. The final census 2000 report issued by SBJ in February 2003 already included referential statistics for a Kantō major metropolitan area, taking into account the anticipated promotion of Saitama. The Kantō major metropolitan area had a population of 34,607,069 and an area of 13,754 km² as a result of the retroactive calculation.
- Shizuoka major metropolitan area
- Shizuoka, previously the central city of Shizuoka metropolitan area, was promoted to a designated city as of April 2005.
- Matsuyama metropolitan area
- Matsuyama qualifies as a central city as of April 2005, resulting from mergers of neighboring municipalities.
[edit] Urban Employment Area
Urban Employment Area is another definition of metropolitan areas, defined by the Center for Spatial Information Service, the University of Tokyo.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Population of metropolitan areas" (XLS). Japan Statistics Bureau. http://www.stat.go.jp/data/kokusei/2000/final/zuhyou/092.xls. Retrieved on 2007-06-05.
